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ericthegreat « One of the best »
Published on 11/01/11 at 20:56I love the Hofner Icon Series and the overall design. Can't put it down! I did, however, receive a bass with several manufacturing flaws that made it very frustrating. For the price I was not surprised, but I was still disappointed. On close inspection the binding work is very sloppy, with stain from the wood splashed over on parts. Also, I received a tailpiece that had the detail pieces soldered/welded on crooked and chromed over. And, worst of all, it came unplayable because there was a short at the cheap output jack. I will say, however, that I kept, fixed, and love mine and doubt I will ever part with it. To their credit; Guitar Center gave me a partial refund because I did not have the time to go through the return process. These are great instruments but, in terms of build quality, you get what you pay for
UTILIZATION
The spacing on the frets is almost like playing guitar. For being a bass, it is light. Much lighter than my guitar. Sounds that I got out of this thing are unbelievable. It plays like a bass should.
SOUNDS
I played it through my vintage Vox T-100 bass amp and the sound was very poor. I still liked the way it looked. After sending it back to a Hofner dealer, they put on a bone nut, put on Hofner Black Diamond flat wound strings and gave it a tune up Paul McCartney would of been proud of. It's excellent, only bass I'm playing now! I've been playing it now for over a year and not one problem with it since.
OVERALL OPINION
I have not needed to make any adjustments (the bridge was properly aligned, an earlier problem that they may have addressed). But it does seem like some of the materials are a little cheap, the screw heads and metal parts seem toy-like. The end of the pickguard was sharp as a dagger and I had to file it down so no one will gore themselves. I am going to try some different strings and see what that sounds like. Bottom-line - fun to play, nice tone, nicely finished body. GREAT!
UTILIZATION
The spacing on the frets is almost like playing guitar. For being a bass, it is light. Much lighter than my guitar. Sounds that I got out of this thing are unbelievable. It plays like a bass should.
SOUNDS
I played it through my vintage Vox T-100 bass amp and the sound was very poor. I still liked the way it looked. After sending it back to a Hofner dealer, they put on a bone nut, put on Hofner Black Diamond flat wound strings and gave it a tune up Paul McCartney would of been proud of. It's excellent, only bass I'm playing now! I've been playing it now for over a year and not one problem with it since.
OVERALL OPINION
I have not needed to make any adjustments (the bridge was properly aligned, an earlier problem that they may have addressed). But it does seem like some of the materials are a little cheap, the screw heads and metal parts seem toy-like. The end of the pickguard was sharp as a dagger and I had to file it down so no one will gore themselves. I am going to try some different strings and see what that sounds like. Bottom-line - fun to play, nice tone, nicely finished body. GREAT!